The experience of using local language models (LLMs) to verify an extreme news event, such as the US attacking Venezuela and capturing its leaders, highlights the challenges faced by AI in distinguishing between reality and misinformation. Despite accessing credible sources like Reuters and the New York Times, the Qwen Research model initially classified the event as a hoax due to its perceived improbability. This situation underscores the limitations of smaller LLMs in processing real-time, extreme events and the importance of implementing rules like Evidence Authority and Hoax Classification to improve their reliability. Testing with larger models like GPT-OSS:120B showed improved skepticism and verification processes, indicating the potential for more accurate handling of breaking news in advanced systems. Why this matters: Understanding the limitations of AI in processing real-time events is crucial for improving their reliability and ensuring accurate information dissemination.
